Georgia Football Knee Jerk Reactions: Kentucky Edition

That’s more like it. Gone was the team that got mollywopped by Florida, casting precious fuel to the #FireBobo #FireRicht #HireGruden trash can fires, and not a moment too soon. That sad sack of a squad is gone, dead and buried somewhere in Jacksonville, replaced by something greater. Tell the people who they’re talking to Ric.

Damn right.

Saturday wasn’t perfect, and anyone pretending it was is either still drunk from the Florida game, or the anti-Jason Smith. But, it was a much-needed reminder of what this Georgia team CAN be. Yes, it was just Kentucky. Yes, the defense allowed an embarrassing number of points in the second quarter. Yes, this team continues to get burned by quarterbacks who do that running thing.

BUT, a lot can be said for avoiding the trap game, and blowing out an opponent. And no matter what expectations we have as fans, we can all agree that beating a conference opponent by 32 points is football at a high level.

The Good:

– THAT’S how you start a game. Isaiah McKenzie sprang the opening kick off for 6, and set the tone for the whole afternoon for the good guys. I’ve been reticent to call him that ridiculous nickname partially because he’s a freshman, partially because Dante Hall is still alive, but he keeps running back two a game, and I’ll apologize to Mr. Hall. If I can find him. Seriously, what the hell happened to that guy?

– Running game, one more time. On the heels of another dominating Chubb performance, and the return of Sony Michel to the backfield, there are early rumblings that Todd Gurley may not start against Auburn this Saturday. Look, I’ve loved the Chubb experience as much as the next guy, but if you think he should get the start over the best running back in college football…

– Hutson Mason continues to rub Jason Smith’s face in it. For the purposes of this column blog, ‘it’ represents FACTS. Hutson Mason threw another 4 touchdowns against 0 interceptions. FACT. Hutson Mason only threw 3 incompletions. FACT. Jason Smith is a curmudgeon who likes to pull apart passing offenses that don’t pass his eye test. FACT. Throw in my favorite freshman Jeb Blaze getting his first taste of the end zone in his college career, and you’d have to be Jason Smith himself to find fault in the aerial attack.

– I didn’t get a chance to talk about UGA’s pass defense last week because Treon Harris only threw six passes (still hurts), but they forced Kentucky in to more than a few passing situations and acquitted themselves nicely. And by nicely, I mean they held the Kentucky passing attack to just over 50% passing, and forced yet another turnover.

The Bad:

– Remember how I said Georgia left the remnants of the Florida incident back in Jacksonville? Well, they forgot to also leave missed run fits. The final stats against the run are ugly, but in practice, they felt even worse. Unlike last week, when it seemed that the UF offense had just out schemed the UGA defense, each big run from Williams seemed to be the product of either bad fits, or missed tackles at the point of attack. If the first guy made a solid tackle, that 10 yard average would have looked a lot better.

– Gotta be better against running quarterbacks if the secondary is going to continue playing this well. I LOVE the consistency that has developed on the back-end, and I LOVE the intensity with which the front seven attacks the quarterback, but it’s imperative that contain gets kept and the rush is organized, especially against this week’s opponent.

The Ugly:

– Quayvon Hicks. GTFOMST. Love the hustle, but hit the OTHER GUYS.

Another week in the books, another big game on the docket. This is an Auburn team coming off of an embarrassing loss last week, so get ready for another title fight my fellow Georgia fans. No one is going to give an inch here, and I’m firm in my belief that the first team to calm down is going to be the one that will take early control of the game. And there’s no more calming presence that the best running back in the world back on the sidelines. Plus, looks like we’ve figured out how to handle any punting issues because as Georgia fans, we remain solutions oriented.

Georgia finally resolved its punting issues by scoring on every possession. Clever.

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